Back in the summer of 2008 Bagaela sent me a sample of ArtDeco's Eyeshadow Base after she found out that I had not tried it yet despite the fact that by that time I had heard enough people rave about it on different beauty forums and MUA. The reason for that was simple though: 1.) I was not particularly inclined to spend thousands of Forints on something that might still turn out to be a miss, especially considering how oily my lids can get during the day, and 2.) I was not yet acquainted with the wonderful girls on the Krémmárka thread and was a solitary little beauty addict with highly restricted access to the true gems of the cosmetic industry.

Now, almost a year later, here I am, sitting at my desk with a little black jar resting on it right next to me, meant to provide inspiration for this post, though that is hardly necessary anymore: I'm a convert.

Look, oh just look!

Pure Luxe's "Dream on..." is a beautiful and intensive color (somehow the picture doesn't do it justice though), but just look at what it becomes once it's applied on a properly primed surface. Glamorous, isn't it?

Just to illustrate how much your eyeshadow will want to stick to you and your lids, here's a picture I took after having scrubbed my arm with soap twice.

The above picture might, of course, provoke different reactions in different people. Depending on whether you're a slightly crazed makeup junkie or a devotee of all things natural, you'll either go "Holy Makeup Palette! Bring it on!!!" or say "There's no way in hell I'll put that vile concoction anywhere near my eyes!". You'd both be right, I guess: I often wonder what the long term effects of putting something like that on my eyes might be, but then I'm overcome with this desire to have my eyeshadow last an entire day, and I give in to the lure of this amazing primer.

Here's the list of ingredients:

By the way, yes, you heard it right: lasts an entire day. For me, that means at least 12 hours, but more often it's 15, as I usually put makeup on at about 5:30 AM and wipe it all off at around 8 or 9 PM, when class with my private student ends or when I get home from the company I teach at in the afternoons. Now then, believe it or not, no eyeshadow I apply onto this base will ever smudge, sit into the creases or simply disappear into nothingness during the course of the day. It will stay where I put it and will be just as bold and bright as when I carefully painted it on in the morning. It doesn't matter if it's a high-end brand or just a cheap 1 buck product: come rain or scorcher, it just won't move. How's that? ;-)

I was told that the 5 ml of miracle cream in the jar is enough for a lifetime, and since I purchased my own, I've been more and more inclined to believe that. You only need the smallest amount for an eyelid: something like running your index finder over the surface and using what it had picked up will do the trick. Like this:

Don't use more than that though: it won't make your makeup last longer (the thin layer above will cover you for 15 hours at least) and will only serve to make it really difficult to put on your eyeshadow.

Just to help you imagine how big your jar will be, here's a life size image of the jar (give or take a few millimeters). Its size is minuscule, but it'll go dry long before you finish it all up, so sharing with some friends is always a good idea. I already have and am still planning to. :-D

What I've noticed though while using this product is that it quickly grabs onto the e/s you put onto it, reducing its smoothness and making it more difficult to spread on your lid. You will thus need more powder to cover the same area if you use this, meaning that a pot of eyeshadow will probably last you a little less than it would otherwise, but I still wouldn't give up my Base for anything in the world: having eye makeup that remains untouched during the entire day is too big of an asset to just throw away for the sake of making my shadows last a few weeks longer. I have too many of those for my own good anyway. ;-)

As far as I know, Bagaela also sometimes uses this to make concealer stick to her skin and blend in better, an unorthodox method I have tested and found perfectly effective, though I can't use it in the long run as silicones of any kind really aggravate my skin. (Not on my eyelids, thank heavens...) Otherwise I recommend you to try it: it works!

So, let's hear it from you dear readers! Have you tried this product yet? What were your impressions? Have you tried something else? Share your experiences!

Oh, here's another swatch from a previous post of mine, just to further illustrate what a huge difference ArtDeco's Eyeshadow Base can make.

All images in this post are copyright of me (Izar), unless stated otherwise.